Stalins Krieg: Die sowjetische Langzeitstrategie gegen den Westen als rationale Machtpolitik

by Ernst Topitsch

German

Genres: History, World War II, Russia, Nonfiction

168 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[JW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ernst Topitsch argues that Stalin duped Hitler into starting a war that the Soviet Union would exploit to its advantage. It makes a lot of sense. The Western democracies (or “capitalist powers”), specifically Britain and America, were motivated by anti-Nazi (and anti-German) animus. Thus, Germany was considered the arch villain for invading Poland, while the subsequent Soviet invasion was passed over in relative silence. Topitsch posits that Stalin, following Leninist principles, expected the Anglo-French alliance and Germany to exhaust themselves in combat, leaving the USSR to move in and pick up the pieces. The one thing he didn’t expect was the strength of the German invasion in 1941. Was Stalin planning to strike first? Instead, Topitsch believes that a German attack was expected, but that Stalin believed it would be easily repulsed and the Red Army would go on the offensive on German soil. An intriguing premise.